Maybe the name is not very original, but let me assure you that my opinions on the beer are. If you are not shy of trying new beer, I am quite sure that I will have something for you.

Donnerstag, 15. September 2016

BRITISH BEER TASTING, Beer Market, La Louvière, Belgium

BRITISH BEER TASTING

Beer Market

Rue de Brouckère 1

La Louviere

The formula of the beer tasting at the Beer Market is very
simple – beers are poured o 0.2 tasting glasses by the owner of the shop (see
Photo #1). Everybody gets a glass and have enough time to try and gets his/her
own opinion (approx. 15 min). Then there is a short discussion (in French!) about
this beer. Finally – the revelation – the owner tells us what did we get. That
way we have managed to try 7 beers in almost 2 hours.

Very interesting formula.

Below are the photos and short description of the beers.

My result? Out of 7 beers: two cases I knew exactly the beer
in other two I recognized the style. Much to learnJ

Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale

Samuels smith beers are British classics and we got the lion
share of them in the evening. Winter Ale is rather average member of the
family, bit blunt in taste, with a bit of metallic component. On positives – it
is not over-spiced and sugary, on negatives - rather boring.

Samuel Adams Chocolate Stout

Obviously, when Samuel Adams says chocolate - they mean it.
This one is chocolate in aroma and taste. In fact, I probably never had
chocolate beer taken so literally, it was so close to drinking chocolate as the
beer could be. And yes, after some effort there was a coffee aroma as well.
Really nice.

Shepherd Neame IPA

With all respect to the traditional British brewing - I just
do not like original IPAs. I respect them for being ancestors of the aromatic,
new world IPAs. Nothing more. This one is no different – almost no aroma, very heavy
hopped in taste. Just bitter. Still, every beer geek should try, just to see
what a striking difference hops can do to a beer.

Anspach & Hobday The IPA

Exactly the opposite of the previous beer. Here nobody was savvy
on using aroma hops. Fresh, grassy hops in aroma and taste. In fact, it was so
grassy, that at some point I have suspected artificial flavoring. It may not be
the best IPA I know, but it was a blast after Shepherd Neame.

Tranquair Jacobite Ale

This one was new for me and for a while I was thinking that
this is a milk stout. Very interesting traditional dark beer. Rich malt
sweetness, caramel and coriander. Low carbonation and dry finish. Really nice.
For me one of the highlights of the evening!

Fullers Vintage Ale 2015

Another surprise. Relatively blunt in aroma and taste in the
beginning, but the moment we have kept the glasses in our hands to warm up the
beer it happened to be very aromatic (mostly sweet malt). Tastes also malts
with some bitter finish. Great beer, just served too cold.

Samuel Smith Imperial Stout

Another very classic beer. Great imperial stout with a
typical roasted chocolate and roasted caramel aroma. Same in taste, definite
roast and a bit sour with a very light bitter finish. Overall, perfectly balanced
beer. Great end of the evening!

Summary

Positives: owner is a professional and has broad knowledge
about the beer; all beers were interesting selection of classical British
styles; price; atmosphere/people

Negatives: I do not understand why this event was planned in
the middle of the week - we have gotten between 1.4-1.6 liters of beer per
person, waking up to work in the morning was much less than funny; smoking
should be clearly prohibited in the close proximity of the shop (aroma of smoke
clearly kills all other tastes); add more bread to neutralize the taste in
between